Free travel forever along I-5: Tesla expands supercharger stations

Tesla is promising “free travel forever” for Model S drivers along Interstate 5, opening two new “supercharger” stations Thursday in Centralia and Burlington, Washington. That means drivers of the Model S can now travel from Portland to Vancouver, B.C., recharging their battery-powered vehicles along the way.

Tesla dubs its stations the “fastest charging station on the planet,” allowing drivers to get a half charge in about 30 minutes. That’s about 16 times faster than other charging stations. Historically, the company had operated recharging stations in 12 locations, most of them in California.

So the new locations in Centralia and Burlington offer an expansion into the Pacific Northwest, where Tesla has found a lot of success to date.

In addition to charging, Tesla also offers a battery swap program in which Tesla drivers can exchange their battery for a fully charged battery in less than five minutes.

The new station in Burlington, which included eight stalls and is open 24 hours per day, is located at The Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. The station is located 70 miles north of Seattle, and 75 miles south of Vancouver, B.C. The Centralia station, which includes 10 stalls and is also open 24 hours per day, is located Totes Factory store and Dress Barn. The station is located 85 miles south of Seattle, and 90 miles north of Portland.

Tesla has said that it plans to have 27 new charging stations open throughout the country this summer, and is promising full coast-to-coast travel in the U.S. coming this winter. It has sold more than 10,000 vehicles to date.

Comments

FREE, as in.. paid for by everyone else. Electricity ain’t free. If you can afford a Tesla, you can afford to pay for the electricity. I don’t want to pay for somebody else’s electricity, thanks.

enderjed

The electricity is paid for by Tesla. Did you really think the power companies would just give it away, making their customers pick up the cost?

Forrest Corbett

It’s only free if you have the 85 kWh battery. If you have the 60 kWh, it can be added for $2,000, or $2,500 if enabled after delivery. I’m not entirely sure what they do if you show up at one of those with a 60 kWh and haven’t purchased the unlimited recharging option.http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

Now they just need one on I-90 – maybe Moses Lake?

cdvilla

Tesla is paying for the electricity as a courtesy to their customers. To think that somehow common citizens are paying for this juice to the landbarron Tesla owners is just you being dumb.

Guest

Tesla states their SolarCity superchargers will forever keep up with the demand. Possible, but considering the amount of electricity generated from solar is pretty small I highly doubt that will be sustainable. They also use federal subsidies to fund these projects. Is it more earth friendly than using fossil fuels, yes. Is it still the same tax money I pay, yes. Not being dumb, being logical. I don’t buy into the marketing hype.

Eddie H.

You might not be dumb, but your statements are pesimistic and self-centered in nature. If the end-result is cleaner energy, and it caters to a a minority… Where’s the harm? Would you rather those tax funds be tagged on to the already ridiculous military budget?

Guest

I’d rather my taxes go to doing what they’re originally earmarked for and helping those that really need it, not somebody that spends $60k+ on a car or a billionaires corporation. I appreciate your comments. ;)

Sandnsnow24

Tesla actually receives ZERO subsidies. The CUSTOMER sees a one-time $7,500 tax credit. Please go research how many subsidies keep the cost of oil low, and how many the legacy automakers get, and you might actually learn something. You will be shocked by where your tax dollars are ACTUALLY going my friend. Check your earmarks.

Sandnsnow24

Soooo…. by paying back their only government backed loan 9 years early counts as taking subsidies I guess…. where else do you think they are taking subsidies? Are you thinking you aren’t seeing subsidies when you buy and fuel up your Escalade?

Stew

Time will tell but for now the only reason Tesla landed in the black was the 12% of rev derived from emissions credits in CA. As for paying as a “courtesy to their customers” . . .LMAO Greenie!

Valid open market. There are many financial companies in the business of trading emissions credits.

stew

Sure there are. Lot of “valid” companies trading Bitcoins too. End of the day one cannot dispute some of the valid points in the Forbes article. That and there is no such thing as a free ride, lunch, whatever. End of the day the taxpayer ends up on the hook.

http://www.techmansworld.com/ Michael Hazell

I have to admit, Tesla has gotten a lot more attention lately because of the press. I think it’s working out pretty well for them.